Exciting New Team Member
One of the most beautiful displays in the natural world is a murmuration of starlings. Flocking behavior among animals is a marvelous study in what is possible when organisms come together in a strong community. Our team at okom wrks is a lot like a murmuration of starlings.
Conni Nielsen, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
What is so special about murmurations, as well as other flocking behaviors seen in herds of wildebeests, shoals of sardines, swarms of insects, etc. is that the community of organisms has a very instructive set of characteristics. The seemingly magical precision of a murmuration follows three main principles: separation, alignment, and cohesion.
Separation - in order to move together in such large numbers, there has to be some space. Every individual needs the room to move freely. In the same way, okom wrks labs is building a team of professionals with varying and diverse skillsets. We know that our work spans multiple realms, and therefore, requires the coming together of multiple disciplines. Each of these disciplines require their own space to move freely within the larger community.
Alignment - the precision we see in a murmuration is a direct result of a very interesting phenomenon. Each member of a murmuration pays close attention to the immediate 6 or 7 members closest to them. By not spreading their attention too widely, and by focusing on the immediate environment, members of a murmuration align themselves with the other community members that have the greatest influence over their direction. In the same way, okom wrks is focused on bringing together diverse disciplines in focused collaborations. The ability of our team to work together is steeped in the mindset that we are constantly learning…and when we learn from others in the community, the whole is greater than the sum!
Cohesion - with a little elbow room, and a sense of purpose a murmuration is able to move as one body. Not in a rigid marching order, but in a flowing, beautiful dance. Empowering our diverse team of professionals and bringing them together to work toward a lofty goal is what provides a sense of cohesion. The task of creating the world’s most regenerative building materials for the planet will only be accomplished by a community of people aligned under a common purpose, working in concert.
INTRODUCING THE LATEST ADDITION TO THE okom wrks labs TEAM
2022 is already beginning to come into focus. We have several exciting grant opportunities that we’ve applied to. Our farming, manufacturing, architectural, and engineering partnerships continue to deepen and even expand. Most importantly, we are also bringing on new team members. Our newest addition gives us a deeper research, engineering, and business skillset. We are very proud to introduce John Kabanda, PhD to our senior leadership team. Dr. Kabanda will serve as our VP of Engineering. His addition to the okom wrks team brings us the kind of multidisciplinary skillset that makes our organization thrive.
Here are some of Dr. Kabanda’s impressive academic and career highlights:
Doctor of Philosophy in Structural Engineering; his research focused on how to minimize local buckling in thin-walled hollow sections via experimental tests completed at Queen’s University.
Master of Applied Science Degree in Structural Engineering; his research focused on the seismic analysis of a reinforced concrete nuclear power plant structure using the time and frequency domain analysis methods, and was completed in collaboration with Sargent and Lundy LLC, Boston, Chicago.
Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering with numerous awards for academic success. Completed an MBA at the University of Oxford with particular interest in social entrepreneurship, engineering economics, and the economics of mutuality.
Worked as an engineering intern at the National Research council of Canada and a structural engineer at Ankor Engineering Systems Limited. Tasks included design of building envelopes and steel structural elements, respectively.
Currently conducting research and teaching at Queen’s University.
Dr. John Kabanda
VP of Engineering | okom wrks
